Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-22 Thread Wolfgang Pfeiffer 
Hi Anthony

I'm really late, I know. But this email may help for a future passwd
blues ... :)

On Fri, 2004-09-17 at 20:39, Anthony Campbell wrote:
> I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
> work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
> 
> I can't access via single user either.
> 
> I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
> delete in order to make the system accessible without a password? 
> 
> This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
> else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.

[ ... ]

Basically all (more or less) you have to do is to type "passwd" in what
I call rescue-mode.

Details here:


Best Regards
Wolfgang
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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-20 Thread Anthony Campbell 
On 20 Sep 2004, Ionel Mugurel Ciobica wrote:
> On 17-09-2004, at 20h 24'37", Anthony Campbell wrote about "Re: Locked out! How to 
> circumvent password urgently?"
> > 
> > Sorry for this follow-up, but I've now discovered what the original
> > problem with the passwords was. The console keymap has somehow gone
> > wrong and is not generating the correct UK symbols for # ~ @ . This may
> > have happened in today's update from Sid - I'm not sure. Anyway, the
> > passwords I was using contained these characters so they were coming out
> > wrong when I typed them, but of course I couldn't see that!
> > 
> 
> Sometime it happens to me, after an update the keyboard turns either
> French or German. I keep a user with a password with an easy password
> to type, from where, after I login, I can change the keyboard type for
> that user then type su and change it for the system.
> 
> Ionel

I may do that if it happens again.

Anthony
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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-20 Thread Ionel Mugurel Ciobica 
On 17-09-2004, at 20h 24'37", Anthony Campbell wrote about "Re: Locked out! How to 
circumvent password urgently?"
> 
> Sorry for this follow-up, but I've now discovered what the original
> problem with the passwords was. The console keymap has somehow gone
> wrong and is not generating the correct UK symbols for # ~ @ . This may
> have happened in today's update from Sid - I'm not sure. Anyway, the
> passwords I was using contained these characters so they were coming out
> wrong when I typed them, but of course I couldn't see that!
> 

Sometime it happens to me, after an update the keyboard turns either
French or German. I keep a user with a password with an easy password
to type, from where, after I login, I can change the keyboard type for
that user then type su and change it for the system.

Ionel


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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-18 Thread John Summerfield 
Anthony Campbell wrote:
Anthony
   

Sorry for this follow-up, but I've now discovered what the original
problem with the passwords was. The console keymap has somehow gone
wrong and is not generating the correct UK symbols for # ~ @ . This may
have happened in today's update from Sid - I'm not sure. Anyway, the
passwords I was using contained these characters so they were coming out
wrong when I typed them, but of course I couldn't see that!
So at least I hadn't been compromised - relief!
 

I once installed using a keyboard with a failed zed key. I chose a root 
password with a zed in it. Caused some puzzlement when I replaced the kbd:-)


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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Anthony Campbell 
On 17 Sep 2004, Anthony Campbell wrote:
> On 17 Sep 2004, Andrea Vettorello wrote:
> > On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:39:41 +0100, Anthony Campbell
> > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > > I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
> > > work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
> > > 
> > > I can't access via single user either.
> > > 
> > > I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
> > > delete in order to make the system accessible without a password?
> > > 
> > > This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
> > > else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.
> > > 
> > 
> > Mmh, edit /etc/passwd  (or /etc/shadow), the second field (after the
> > username) is the hashed passwd, delete it and at next login you only
> > need to press enter.
> > 
> > 
> > Andrea
> > 
> 
> Thanks to both for prompt replies. I had tried editing /etc/shadow but
> it still didn't boot for some reason. However I found a file called
> /etc/shadow- and replaced /etc/shadow with that, and it then worked with
> the previous password, so the day seems to be saved.
> 
> Anthony

Sorry for this follow-up, but I've now discovered what the original
problem with the passwords was. The console keymap has somehow gone
wrong and is not generating the correct UK symbols for # ~ @ . This may
have happened in today's update from Sid - I'm not sure. Anyway, the
passwords I was using contained these characters so they were coming out
wrong when I typed them, but of course I couldn't see that!

So at least I hadn't been compromised - relief!

Anthony

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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Andreas Janssen 
Hello

Anthony Campbell (<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) wrote:

> I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root
> passwords work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
> 
> I can't access via single user either.
> 
> I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I
> can delete in order to make the system accessible without a password?

You can edit the passwd or shadow file. Or you can chroot into the
installed system and run passwd. Or you can boot from hard disk, and
append

init=/bin/sh

to the boot loader command line. You will boot directly into a shell, no
login is required. Run

mount -o remount,rw /
passwd
reboot

best regards
Andreas Janssen

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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Anthony Campbell 
On 17 Sep 2004, Andrea Vettorello wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:39:41 +0100, Anthony Campbell
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
> > work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
> > 
> > I can't access via single user either.
> > 
> > I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
> > delete in order to make the system accessible without a password?
> > 
> > This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
> > else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.
> > 
> 
> Mmh, edit /etc/passwd  (or /etc/shadow), the second field (after the
> username) is the hashed passwd, delete it and at next login you only
> need to press enter.
> 
> 
> Andrea
> 

Thanks to both for prompt replies. I had tried editing /etc/shadow but
it still didn't boot for some reason. However I found a file called
/etc/shadow- and replaced /etc/shadow with that, and it then worked with
the previous password, so the day seems to be saved.

Anthony

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Windows-free zone  ||  books and skeptical articles


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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Kent West 
Anthony Campbell wrote:
I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
I can't access via single user either.
I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
delete in order to make the system accessible without a password? 

This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.
 

Assuming you're using shadow passwords, edit /etc/passwd and remove the 
"x" on the root line. This essentially disables the shadow password for 
that account. Reboot the machine, log in as root. You need to fix the 
shadow password issue, and I don't recall all the details, but it's not 
particularly hard. Spend 5 minutes in google and you'll probably find 
specific instructions.

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Re: Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Andrea Vettorello 
On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:39:41 +0100, Anthony Campbell
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
> work. I can only think I was hacked last night.
> 
> I can't access via single user either.
> 
> I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
> delete in order to make the system accessible without a password?
> 
> This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
> else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.
> 

Mmh, edit /etc/passwd  (or /etc/shadow), the second field (after the
username) is the hashed passwd, delete it and at next login you only
need to press enter.


Andrea


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Locked out! How to circumvent password urgently?

2004-09-17 Thread Anthony Campbell 
I can't access my laptop because neither the user nor the root passwords
work. I can only think I was hacked last night.

I can't access via single user either.

I can get into the system via knoppix. Are there any files in /etc I can
delete in order to make the system accessible without a password? 

This is REALLY urgent because I must use the machine tomorrow, so if all
else fails I shall have to reinstall the system.

Anthony

Using Linux GNU/Debian - http://www.acampbell.org.uk


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